From Jay, NY, using a Canon 6D Mark II and Redcat 51 telescope as the lens

Emission nebula in Auriga
Approx 1,550 light-years distant

1 & 2 November 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

HOO (nebula)
RGB (stars)

13 hours, 56 minutes integration time
Red (80 frames @ 60 sec)
Green (79 @ 60)
Blue (80 @ 60)
Hα (99 @ 180)
OIII (100 @ 180)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro filters
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Open cluster in Taurus
Approx 444 light-years distant

17–24 October 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

23 hours, 32 minutes integration time
Red (234 frames @ 120 sec)
Green (234 @ 120)
Blue (238 @ 120)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro filters
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Emission nebula in Cassiopeia
Approx 550 light-years distant

The bright star is Navi or γ Cassiopeiae, the middle star in the constellation’s “M.”

10 & 12 October 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

5 hours, 30 minutes integration time
Red (45 frames @ 120 sec)
Green (34 @ 120)
Blue (41 @ 120)
Hα (45 @120)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro filters
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Emission nebula in Cassiopeia
Approx 9,500 light-years distant

1–4 October 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

16 hours, 28 minutes integration time
SHO nebula (164 frames @ 180sec, 219 frames @ 120sec)
RGB stars (58 frames @ 60sec)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro 3.5nm filters
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Emission nebula in Cepheus
Approx 8,500 light-years distant

19 & 20 August 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

5 hours, 22 minutes integration time
SHO nebula (132 frames @ 100sec)
RGB stars (102 frames @ 60sec)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, gain 150, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro filters
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Emission nebula in Cygnus
01 & 02 August 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

5 hours, 9 minutes integration time
HOO nebula (246 frames @ 120sec)
RGB stars (63 frames @ 60sec)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, gain 150, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro filters
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

11 July 2023
North Truro, Cape Cod, MA; Bortle 3 skies
74 minutes integration time

Redcat 51 refractor telescope
Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi mount
Astro-modified Canon 6d Mark II camera
1×1 binning, ISO 3200, f/5.1
Calibration frames: 24 bias, 15 darks, 25 flats
Post-processing with PixInsight software

25 May 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

3 hours, 21 minutes integration time
LRGB (67 frames @ 180sec)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, gain 150, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro LRGB filters
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 4×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

11–18 May 2023
Princeton, NJ Bortle 6 skies

In Canes Venatici, 29.3 million light-years distant
Approx. 400 billion stars

14 hours, 25 minutes integration time
LRGB (295 frames @ 180sec)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI2600MM Pro camera
1×1 binning, 2× drizzle, gain 150, f/5.2
Sensor temp -10C
Antlia Pro LRGB filters
Calibration frames: 18 darks, 25 flat darks, 4×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

10 April 2023
Princeton, NJ

First light with my solar telescope

ZWO ASI178MC color camera
Lunt 40mm f/10 H-α Solar Telescope
Post-processing with Autostakkert & RegiStax

13 Feb; 15, 19, & 20 Mar 2023
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

17 hours, 16.5 minutes integration time
RGB (203 frames @ 180sec) + Hɑ (61 frames @ 450sec

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia RGB & Hɑ, filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 4×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

4 & 6 February 2023
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

7 hours, 4.5 minutes integration time
Nebula: 6 hours 22.5 minutes (51×450s of Hɑ, OIII, & SII)
Stars: 42 minutes (14×60s of RGB)

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia RGB, Hɑ, OIII, & SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 4×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

1 February 2023
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

33 minutes integration time, 11×3-min one-shot-color exposures

William Optics Redcat 51 refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
QHY183C color imaging camera
1x1 Binning, Gain 100
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 4×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

28 January 2023
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

48 minutes integration time, 8×2-min exposures of red, green, & blue

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia LRGB filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 4×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Open star cluster and associated reflection nebula in Taurus
20 & 27 January 2023
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

4 hours, 38 minutes integration time, 139×2-min exposures of luminance, red, green, & blue

Televue 127is refractor telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia LRGB filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/5.2
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 4×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Emission nebula in Cassiopeia
12–13 December 2022
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 17 hours integration time, 51×20-min exposures of Hydrogen-α, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Redcat 51 telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sensor temp -5C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 3×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Emission nebula in Perseus
9 December 2022
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 9 hours integration time, 27 20-min exposures of Hydrogen-α, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Redcat 51 telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sensor temp -5C
Calibration frames: 10 darks, 25 flat darks, 3×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

(Barnard 33 & NGC 2024)

Dark and emission nebulae in Orion.

4 December 2022
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

First light using my new mount

Total of 6 hours, 30 minutes integration time, 39 10-minute exposures of Hydrogen-α, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Televue NP127is telescope
Paramount MYT mount
ZWO ASI 1600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 3×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Princeton, NJ

I didn't get the second half because of sunrise.

Canon 6D Mark II
Redcat 51 telescope (250mm focal length)
4× barlow
ISO 1600
Various exposure times

(NGC 7635 & Sharpless 157)

Emission nebulae in Cassiopeia, some 7,100 to 11,000 lightyears distant

8–11 October 2022
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 26 hours, 45 minutes integration time, 214 450-second exposures of Hydrogen-α, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Televue NP127is telescope
Takahashi EM-200 mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX guide scope
ZWO ASI 120MM mini guide camera
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flat darks, 3×25 flats
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

The other spiral galaxy in our local group, the others being Andromeda and the Milky Way. At 2.73 million light-years distance, it's the most distant object that can be seen with the naked eye.

27 September 2022
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 8 hours, 20 minutes integration time
100 300-second exposures with LRGB filters

Televue NP127is telescope
Takahashi EM-200 mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia LRGB filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX guide scope
ZWO ASI 120MM mini guide camera
Sensor temp -15C
Calibration frames: 25 darks, 25 flats, 25 flat darks
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Widefield shot of the nearest major spiral galaxy, 2.5 million light years distant.

Taken with my new portable rig (at least parts of it are new)

15 September 2022
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 1 hour, 9 minutes integration time (23 180-second exposures)

William Optics Redcat 51 telescope
Sky-Watcher StarAdventurer GTi star tracker
Canon D6 Mark II camera
ISO 1250, f/4.9
Optolong L-Pro light-pollution filter
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Princeton, NJ

IRRGB image, with an infrared filter used for the luminance channel

ZWO ASI290MM camera
TPO 8" Ritchey-Chretien telescope
Post-processing with Autostakkert, RegiStax, & WinJupos

Princeton, NJ

ZWO ASI290MM camera
TPO 8" Ritchey-Chretien telescope
Post-processing with Autostakkert and RegiStax.

A starless take on the nebula in the constellation Cepheus, about 2,400 light years distant.

I’ve been trying to get the backfocus right on my telescope, and while I’m closer, the stars are still not quite right. So, this is an image with the stars removed. It has the advantage of making the nebulosity more prominent.

3 August 2022
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 6 hours, 37 minutes, 30 seconds integration time
450-second exposures of H-alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Televue NP127is telescope
Takahashi EM-200 mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX guide scope
ZWO ASI 120MM mini guide camera
Sensor temp -10C
Image Scale: 1.18 arcsec/pixel
Calibration frames: 24 darks, 25 flats, 25 flat darks
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Star-forming region in the constellation Cepheus, about 2,400 light years distant

30 July 2022

Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 5 hours, 30 minutes integration time, 450-second exposures of H-alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Televue NP127is telescope
Takahashi EM-200 mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX guide scope
ZWO ASI 120MM mini guide camera
Sensor temp -10C
Image Scale: 1.18 arcsec/pixel
Calibration frames: 24 darks, 25 flats, 25 flat darks
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Emission nebula surrounding the star Sadr (Gamma Cygni) in the constellation Cygnus.

19–22 July 2022

Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 25 hours, 37 minutes, 30 seconds integration time, 450-second exposures of H-alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Televue NP127is telescope
Takahashi EM-200 mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX guide scope
ZWO ASI 120MM mini guide camera
Sensor temp -10C
Image Scale: 1.18 arcsec/pixel
Calibration frames: 24 darks, 25 flats, 25 flat darks
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Open cluster with star-forming nebula in the constellation of Serpens, some 5,700 light-years distant

24, 25, 30 June, 3, 10, 14 July 2022

Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6 skies

Total of 22 hours, 52 minutes, 30 seconds integration time, 450-second exposures of H-alpha, Oxygen III, and Sulfur II

Televue NP127is telescope
Takahashi EM-200 mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro imaging camera
Sky-Watcher Evoguide 50DX guide scope
ZWO ASI 120MM mini guide camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Sensor temp -10C
Image Scale: 1.18 arcsec/pixel
Calibration frames: 24 darks, 25 flats, 25 flat darks
TheSkyX and PixInsight software

Supernova remnant in Cygnus, some 2,400 light years distant

14 June 2022
30x450sec, 3 hrs 45 min integration time
Princeton, NJ, Bortle 6
Redcat 51 telescope
QHY mini guide scope
Takahashi EM-200 mount
ZWO ASI 2600MM Pro camera
ZWO ASI 120MM guide camera
Antlia 3nm Ha, OIII, SII filters
1x1 Binning, Gain 100, f/4.9
Chip temp -5C
Image Scale: 3.1 arcsec/pixel
Calibration frames: 30 Darks, 30 Flats

NGC 7822 and Cederblad 214 are two nebulae in Cepheus, not far from Polaris, the North Star. NGC 7822 is the northernmost nebula. They’re about 6,000 light years from Earth.

This one didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped. On the plus side, the seeing was pretty good, and I nailed the polar alignment and focus dead on. But the framing is off—the objects are toward the bottom of the frame. Ced 214 is in the lower center; NGC 7822 is a long, thin nebula in the lower left. Also, I needed about twice as much exposure time as I gave them to get a good image—this is two hours total exposure; I needed twice that. Ced 214 is faint and NGC 7822 is almost invisible in this image. Maybe I’ll shoot some more images next weekend to see if I can up the exposure time.

Shot 10-11 July 2010; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 122.5 min (49 x 2.5 minutes), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Post-processing with ImagesPlus 3.0 and Photoshop CS4.

Here’s a snapshot from Mt. Tam before it got dark. It shows why it is such a great site for astronomy. Not only is it easy to get to, but it’s above the fog that often covers San Francisco, making it much darker than any place this close to a major city has any right to be. (I’m not sure what causes the parallel lines you see in the sky. I think it’s the crappy jpeg compression inside my DigitalElph.)

My second attempt at getting a good image of M57.

M57, the Ring Nebula, a planetary nebula in the constellation Lyra. The ring is an expanding cloud of gas blown off a central red giant star, which cannot be seen in this image. It’s about 5,000 light years distant.

Shot 19-20 June 2010; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 90 min (60 x 1.5 minutes), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, 2x Barlow. Post-processing with ImagesPlus 3.0 and Photoshop CS4.

It was a public astronomy night on Mt. Tam, so I didn’t get to photography until quite late. And by then clouds and very unseasonably cold weather were making the proposition iffy, so I packed it in without any long exposures. Of course, as soon as I started tearing down my equipment, the sky cleared…

I also got some shots of Venus, but Venus is really boring—no details visible even on the best of professional scopes. I tried for Saturn, but my exposure settings must have been way too low, because I got zilch there. Not even a blob, just black.

But here is our old friend. I took it through my 2x Barlow, so it’s higher resolution than my previous shots of the moon.

A night of mixed results. The seeing was okay and there were scattered clouds. My target was the M101 Pinwheel Galaxy and to do it justice, I needed to get a higher magnification. The galaxy is faint to begin with and with the higher magnification of the 4x Barlow making it even fainter and significantly reducing the field of view, I just couldn’t place it in the viewfinder. I finally got it with my regular wide field of view, but it’s not a very good image.

But earlier, just after sunset, I did get a nice shot of the three-day-old moon and Venus with my digital Elph. Not bad for just pulling the camera out of the bag and snapping away

Barnard 33 in IC 434, otherwise known as the Horsehead Nebula, is a dark nebula—basically a cloud of dust that blocks the light behind it—in Orion. The bright star in the image is Alnitak, the left-hand star in Orion’s belt. It’s about 1,500 light years from Earth.

Shot 13 March 2010; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp: 25 x 2.5 minutes (62.5 minutes total), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Post-processing with ImagesPlus 3.0 and Photoshop CS4.

The Orion Nebula, the middle “star” in Orion’s sword, is a region of active star formation. It’s one of the brightest and probably the easiest Messier object to find. Observing this night was a bit sketchy—a fair amount of clouds. So the exposure isn’t all that long. I used a new (to me) technique in Photoshop for this one. Since the center of the nebula, the “Trapezium” cluster, is very bright compared with the diffuse outer clouds, I created a layer mask with the shorter, 15-second exposures to show the brightest portions of the nebula. This allows some detail in the center to be seen instead of just an white, overexposed core.

Shot 13 February 2010; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp: 17 x 1.5 minutes + 5 x 15 seconds, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Post-processing with ImagesPlus 3.0 and Photoshop CS4.

The Pleiades, a.k.a., the Seven Sisters, is an open star cluster in Taurus. The stars are all young, less than 100 million years, and were once closer together. It’s no longer an active star-forming region. The nebulosity is not a remnant of its star-forming days, but is merely a dust cloud the cluster is passing through. These are hot and fast-burning stars, expected to last only another 250 million years or so. They’re about 450 light years away.

Shot 24 October 2009; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 60 min (24 x 2.5 minutes), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Post-processing with ImagesPlus 3.0 and Photoshop CS4.

M57, the Ring Nebula, a planetary nebula in the constellation Lyra. The ring is an expanding cloud of gas blown off a central red giant star, which cannot be seen in this image. It’s about 5,000 light years distant.

This isn’t a great image. I didn’t have my scope aligned well and there was considerable star trailing. Seeing wasn’t great that night and there was considerable light from a first quarter moon. I’ll have to shoot M57 again with better alignment and conditions.

Shot 26 August 2009; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 60 min, 30 sec (13 x 2.5 minutes, 14 x 2.0 minutes), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Post-processing with ImagesPlus 3.0 and Photoshop CS4.

The big boy of the solar system. Not the greatest image; the focus is a bit off. But it’s the best planetary image I’ve done so far.

Shot 19 August 2009; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 1/200 sec, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Post-processing with ImagesPlus 3.0 and Photoshop CS4.

Emission nebula and star cluster in Sagittarius: M17 (NGC 6618). Distance is approximately 6,000 light-years. Also known as the Swan Nebula, the Horseshoe Nebula, and the Lobster Nebula.

Shot 18-19 July 2009; Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 1 hr, 32.5 min (37x2.5m), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

This isn’t the greatest of images, but it does show a conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune. Neptune is the dot near the top of the frame. The moon below Jupiter is Europa, the one close in above Jupiter is Io, and the one above and somewhat more distant is Calisto.

Jupiter is way overexposed in order to show its moons and Neptune, so there is no surface detail. This wasn’t a planned shot; at the end of the night I just snapped away in hopes I might get something.

Shot 27 June 2009; Fremont Peak State Park, California; ISO 800, 7 images of various exposures—each less than a second, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

Emission nebula in Serpens Cauda: M16 (NGC 6611). Distance is approximately 7,000 light-years.

Shot 26-27 June 2009; Fremont Peak State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 2 hrs, 25 min (58x2.5m), f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

Three galaxies in the constellation Leo: M66 (NGC 3627, left top), M65 (NGC 3623, left bottom), and NGC 3628 (right). Distance is approximately 35 million light-years (approx. 22 million lyr for M65).

Shot 20 June 2009; Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 18x2.5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

The M81 galaxy (NGC 3031, Bode’s Galaxy) and its companion M82 (NGC 3034, Cigar Galaxy) in Ursa Major. Distance is 12 million light-years.

Shot 30 May 2009; Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 22x2.5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

The M51 Whirlpool Galaxy (NGC 5194) and its companion galaxy NGC 5195 in the constellation Canes Venatici. Distance is 23 million light-years.

Shot 24 May 2009; Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park, California; ISO 800, Exp 23x2.5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS4.

NGC 869 and NGC 884: the double open cluster in the constellation Perseus.

Shot 27 September 2008; Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park; ISO 800, Exp 6x2m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is. Calibration, alignment, & stacking with Images Plus 3.0; other post-processing with Photoshop CS2.

Reshoot of the Andromeda Galaxy with flat frames. Also from a new dark sky location at Lake Sonoma Recreation Area

Shot 29 August 2008; Lake Sonoma, CA; ISO 800, Exp 9x5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is.

This images isthe first I’m really happy with. It’s the first I shot flat frames for and it makes all the difference.

This is NGC 7000, the North America Nebula, so called because it sort of resembles the continent. Cock your head to the left and you’ll start to see the resemblance--the dark “bay” in the upper-center-right is the Gulf of Mexico.

Shot 9-10 August 2008, ISO 800, Exp 9x5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

NGC 6960, the “Western Veil” portion of the nebula. Reshoot of last week’s image with a higher ISO. Even with only half the exposure time, the nebula is much brighter. I’m really getting the hang of this now.

Shot 10 August 2008, ISO 800, Exp 5x5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

The moon again. I shot this one mainly to determine the infinite focus setting--the moon is just about the easiest object to focus on as you can readily see minor changes in detail at different settings. I also used it as my first experiment with flat field support frames.

Shot 9 August 2008, ISO 100, Exp 1/400s, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

Main Telescope: Televue NP-127is, 127mm (5-inch), f/5.2 (660mm focal length) apochromatic refractor.

Guide Scope: William Optics, 80mm, achromatic refractor.

Mount: Takahashi EM-200 equatorial mount.

Camera: Canon EOS 5D, Hutech modified with Canon IR filter replaced with enhanced H-alpha filter.

NGC 6960, the “Western Veil” portion of the nebula. It is very faint and looks like a horizontal wisp of cigarette smoke below the bright star in the center of frame.

Shot 3 August 2008, ISO 100, Exp 5x10m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

A flawed, but pretty cool image. I really need to start taking flat frames to eliminate the gradients and the interference by dust particles on the lens and sensor cover.

Shot 3 August 2008, ISO 100, Exp 5x10m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs Parking Lot, Mt. Tamalpais State Park.

Shot 6 July 2008, ISO 250, Exp 19x2m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs parking lot on Mt. Tamalpais, California.

Shot 5-6 July 2008, ISO 250, Exp 30x2m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs parking lot on Mt. Tamalpais, California.

That’s the M20 Trifid Nebula to the extreme right of the frame.

Shot 7 June 2008, ISO 250, Exp 3x5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs parking lot on Mt. Tamalpais, California.

It’s not very bright. I need to reshoot this with a longer exposure.

Shot 7-8 June 2008, ISO 250, Exp 4x5m, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from Rock Springs parking lot on Mt. Tamalpais, California.

Shot 12 Feb 2008, ISO 250, Exp 300s, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from my rooftop in Emeryville, California.

My first deep sky image. It came out amazingly well considering I had no clue what I was doing.

Shot 12 Feb 2008, ISO 250, Exp 1/250, f/5.2, Canon EOS 5D & Televue NP127is, from my rooftop in Emeryville, California.

My first image through the telescope. A rather obvious target.